THE PLACE: Toronto’s first upscale prefabricated home (though the concept has been popularelsewhere for years) sits just north of Sheppard, overlooking a ravine. Famed Californian architect Ray Kappe designed the four-bedroom house, which boasts 2,132 square feet of interior space—plus another 1,000 square feet in the basement.

BRAGGING RIGHTS: How many people can say their house was assembled in two days, and show off a cool time-lapse video to prove it? If that fails to impress, you can mention that one of Kappe’s homes was also a major plot point in an episode of Californication. Dinner party conversation for all!

BIG SELLING POINT: Kappe is a leader in the field of green home design, and this residence was manufactured in a plant in Indiana using sustainable materials and construction practices. It also has an advanced geothermal heating and cooling system—so you can feel smug about your carbon footprint and save money on your energy bills.

POSSIBLE DEAL BREAKER: Since your home is so environmentally friendly, expect some scathing stares from neighbours if you exceed your weekly garbage allotment. And you had better make sure that green bin gets used.

The builders partnered with some of Canada’s most innovative retailers and manufacturers, including Caesarstone, Made, Elte, Urban Mode, Jotul and even the AGO, to furnish the three-bedroom house for showcasing (Image: Finn O’Hara)

The builders partnered with some of Canada’s most innovative retailers and manufacturers, including Caesarstone, Made, Elte, Urban Mode, Jotul and even the AGO, to furnish the three-bedroom house for showcasing (Image: Finn O’Hara)

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The home was put together on its North York lot over a couple of days last January. The modified design included beefed-up insulation for the Canadian climate

I drive by this place all the time and while the lot is nice the surrounding area is rather meh. 2 doors away from the nursing home (at least it’s quiet), and Senlac is a busy road (coming to a dead stop at rush hours) and, it has bus service. I guess all of the surrounding frame houses will eventually go but for this money I’d want ALL of the neighbouring houses to be in the 2-mil range as well.

And what is with all the rainfall shower heads? Do people really like these? Do you stand in the pouring rain and think, ‘this is fantastic, I should take off all my clothes’? Water pouring down on the top of my head =/= shower.

I was able to walk through this home. It’s beautiful. With or without window coverings it is very bright. The master bath is gorgeous. The street is busy but the house is oriented so you would never be focused on the street, the ravine behind the home is really the focus.

Funny we build houses with small windows and condos with all glass fronts. Besides that observation, I like this house, it’s clean it’s very European looking and it’s “green”. I don’t know the neighbourhood but do think the price is rather high.

This house belongs downtown. I would never pay that much to live off Sheppard. Other then that the finishings and fixtures are very very nice. Ignatz: have you ever used a rainfall showerhead? Its relaxing!

I have been through the house and it is spectacular. The windows provide so much natural light and beautiful ravine views – not to the street. The high ceilings provide a very spacious area which appears much larger than it is. All of the finishings are amazing – especially the kitchen and bathroom cabinetry. A very warm and thoughtful house with all of the upgrades. Love it.

Meh. The kitchen cabinets, the bathroom fixtures, etc are all in the style of the moment, which means they will look dated very quickly. The overall design wastes a lot of space and doesn’t seem to ‘flow’. And the house is no great shakes to look at from the outside. Pass.

Would love to see more darker wood introduced, but that is a personal preference.
Windows are amazing !!, Why wouldn’t you want that light and warmth coming into your home. Wall coverings ?? You only need for privacy not to hide the light

Downtown this house would be phenomenal, although it would be insane in pricing.
This house demonstrates some good aspects of design.
Some readers need to be open to the new way houses are being built now. ….

Too expensive for the ‘burbs? Really? Leaving aside the questionability of a (416) subway access neighbourhood’s classification as a ‘burb, as someone who lives in this area I can tell you that $1.7 million does not bat anyone’s eyelashes here anymore.

For reasons I still have trouble wrapping my head around, the Yonge and Sheppard corridor is white hot. I can’t remember the last time this year I heard of a house sell for less than $1 million. At least with this property, you get something that’s more or less in move-in condition. Houses on my block have sold in the last few months for upwards of $1.3 million – and they are rundown bungalows.